What are deadlocks?

A deadlock is when things get stuck because each one is waiting for something else to move first.

Imagine you and your friend are playing with toy cars on a track. You both have a car, and there’s only one bridge between two parts of the track. You go first, but you stop halfway across the bridge to wait for your friend to finish their turn. Your friend starts moving, but they also stop halfway across the bridge to wait for you to move. Now neither of you can go forward or backward, both are stuck, waiting for each other.

This is like a deadlock in real life. It happens when two or more things need something else to move first, but none of them can move until someone else moves too.

A deadlock needs four special conditions:

1. Each thing has something (like a toy car).
2. They all want the same thing (like the bridge).
3. No one is letting go of what they have.
4. Everyone is waiting for someone else to move first.

Without breaking these rules, things stay stuck, just like you and your friend on that bridge!